Editing

1. Editing

2. What is editing? • Editing is reviewing your writing for small errors. • Editing is polishing a piece to be turned in to an instructor or finalizing it for publication. • Editing is not revising.

3. Why edit? • Minor errors are distracting. • A reader may notice errors and forget about what you’re trying to say. • Minor errors make you seem unintelligent. • A reader may think you’re too foolish to correct what he/she believes is an obvious mistake. • Minor errors make you seem unprofessional. • A reader may think you didn’t want to take the time to polish your work.

4. What is included in editing? When editing, review your paper for these errors: • spelling • punctuation • grammar • citation • typographical • formatting

5. Spelling • The spell checker in your word processor does not pick up all spelling errors. • Look for incorrect use of homophones (words that sound alike) like “there” and “their” and “whether” and “weather.” • Look for words that are missing letters but still form the correct spelling of other words. For example: Heroine – e = Heroin Donor – n= Door Dessert – s= Desert

6. Punctuation • The most common punctuation errors in student writing are comma splices (adding an unnecessary comma) and missing commas after introductory elements. • Look for appropriate use of • quotation marks • apostrophes • colons and semicolons • If you have questions about punctuation refer to your handbook or visit the Writing Center.

7. Grammar Reviewing for grammatical errors includes looking at the following:

8. Citation • Make sure that you have included all necessary in-text and bibliographical citations. • Make sure that you have formatted your in-text citations correctly and accurately. • Make sure that your bibliographical citations are accurate, and look at them very carefully for formatting, checking with your style guide as you go. • Return to your style guide or visit the Writing Center for questions about citations.

9. Typographical • Typographical errors are also known as typos. • Typos are careless typing errors like extra letters or spaces between words. • Typos are unintentional or accidental errors, and, as such, they may be difficult to find.

10. Formatting Formatting includes the following: • margins • tabs or indents • centering • heading • page numbers • font type and size • cover page • left alignment • citations, including in text, footnotes, end notes, and bibliography • All formatting questions specific to a class should be answered by an instructor. • Answers to Microsoft Word questions can be answered by clicking on the question mark button in the top right corner of the document screen or by visiting the Writing Center.

11. Editing Strategies • Give your text some time—don’t read your writing for at least a few minutes, if not several days. • Read your paper aloud—reading aloud requires you to focus on individual words. This works best if you have someone you can read to. • Ask someone else to read your paper—make sure you ask him/her to make notes and ask questions, too. • Ask someone else to read your paper aloud—hearing your own writing through someone else’s voice gives you a much better perspective of your audience.

12. More Editing Strategies • Use a pointer or ruler—this will help you read and assess every single word and punctuation mark. • Read the paper backwards—by looking at the paper from end to start, you will concentrate on the words themselves rather than the meaning of the words. • Read sections at a time—rather than feeling overwhelmed by an entire paper, edit only a paragraph or a page at a time. This will ensure your concentration.

13. Still More Editing Strategies • Keep track of frequent errors—everyone has a habit of certain errors. Identify errors you’re most likely to commit and look for those specifically. • Visit the Writing Center—schedule an appointment to work with a tutor. You can sit alongside someone and review the paper line by line for errors.

14. Don’t forget: print the handout that goes with this presentation! Please complete a survey on this tutorial. For more information about editing or for help with other writing concerns, come to TSU’s Writing Center. Visit room 300 in the Learning Resources Center or call 615.963.5102 to make an appointment.